Rangelus

Ammonia is significantly more harmful in the event of a leak. Yes, it's more hydrogen dense than pure liquid hydrogen.

Ultimately I don't see a reason to dismiss hydrogen like some are doing. Is it the perfect solution in all cases? Of course not. Does that mean it is not a viable fuel source for transport? Absolutely not.

Scale solves most problems. Hydrogen also has other uses, such as steel production, which further increases the scale.

For light vehicles batter EV is likely to be the leading type for some time, as volume is more of an issue then weight for the ranges we need.

That's not entirely true. If you are purely looking at $/kWh then yes, of course this is the case. However that is not the only consideration when it comes to transport. Weight of the drive unit, use of rare earth metals, lifespan of the drive unit, energy density by weight, speed of recharge, ease of transport energy, and more are all considerations.

I'm not arguing that vehicles will become hydrogen electric. I agree they are not suitable without some serious technological advances. What I'm saying is that at a certain point, larger vehicles (trucks, trains, ships, even aeroplanes) will become more suitable to hydrogen.

I'm all for increasing rail and coastal shipping for cargo. Having lived overseas, it's criminal how much we rely on trucks here.

All good. Thanks for looking. I'll just keep my ear to the ground. If I see an update I'll post it here.

I can't find the exact figures, as it depends on battery range and battery tech. One study I've seen found a battery truck would weigh over 5000kg more than a hydrogen-electric version.

I've also seen figures of double the weight for a Li-Ion battery EV compared to HEV at ranges above 300 miles.

It is technically challenging, I don't disagree, but it has high energy density by weight. It also, of course, has lots of other applications. Steel manufacture being one.

But to be honest, even if it never eventuates and we get carbon neutral biofuels, I'll be happy. Anything is better than what we're doing right now.

Of course it is, don't be daft.

Price will come down with scale. Currently hydrogen is only produced at a very small scale. As production increases, price will drop. Simple really.

Freezing pumps is a problem I'm certain will be solved. In its infancy, EV charging stations were slow. Look how far the technology has come in a short number of years. As uptake increases and infrastructure is built, I am certain these problems will be overcome.

Absolutely. If there was the political will in this country, we would have an excess of cheap, renewable, power.

Yes, as I said above, this is true because a) hydrogen doesn't currently have the scale to bring the cost down, and b) is more suitable for large vehicles anyway. It's failure to be a viable consumer option doesn't mean it wouldn't work in mass freight transport.

There are problems with these articles, and it almost always comes down to scale. There currently isn't the scale and infrastructure to bring the cost of hydrogen to make it cost effective compared to pure electric. With time that could change if there is a will to do so.

But regardless, as I mentioned in my other comment, hydrogen has a much better use case in large scale transport. Trains and ships, for example, where volume isn't a problem and where the weight of batteries becomes untenable. This is, I think, where hydrogen will be viable.

This is awesome! Where can I follow the progress of the mission?

Thank you. The fact that this isn't common knowledge is really an indictment on our education system.